We started Althoff Farms by selling quarters of beef in 2013. We decided to add selling by the individual piece of meat & bundles in 2014 when we started to sell through the Macomb Food Coop in Macomb, IL. We added a few stores and Quincy Farmer’s Market in 2015. We also do off the farm sales and deliveries. We offer grass-fed/grass finished beef, non-GMO, grain-fed beef, and non-confinement pork.

Dan grew up on a farm raising cows and pigs and Heather helped her parents raise a big garden in her youth. We both have been working part time on the farm since 2013. We both have full time jobs, but our farm is our passion.

Why is local food important?

Local foods are important because when you get your food from a local producer, you can pinpoint where your food came from and how it is raised. There is also the economic benefit to the community. We strive to buy local to help our local economy and keep local people working. You are also keeping the dream alive for a farmer when you buy locally.

How do you sell your products?

We sell off the farm, local deliveries, through the Macomb, IL Food Coop, Grown N Gathered in Quincy, Quincy Farmer’s Market and other vendor events. We offer various meat CSA’s that include our non-GMO grain-fed beef, or our grass-fed/grass-finished beef. We do still sell quarters/halves/wholes, cow shares, and bundles. We also offer summer sausage and cheese gift baskets from October-February. We chose these distribution methods because it is what is available to us. Living in a rural area is great but also limits to how we can distribute. We’d love to add other distribution methods in the future and are always on the look out for more opportunities for growth!

How do you see your role in the community?

Our role in the community is as a supplier of good, healthy meat but also as good citizens in our community. We hope we can educate people about local foods and put a face to where they get their food.

What is your favorite growing season/crop?

My favorite season is fall. Things start to slow down a little on the farm and the fall vegetables are more flavorful in my opinion. The cooler weather makes for happier animals. We also enjoy the cooler weather after a long summer!… Read the rest

I got started as an eater, just like everyone else; as a conscious, healthy eater that was concerned about the industrial ag system in our country. To make a long story short, I fell into this unknowingly. I moved to downtown St. Louis 7 years ago and had nowhere to grow my own food. I was at a point in my life where I just wanted that skill and control over what I was eating. So, I started an initiative to grow food in my neighborhood with a community garden and then it exploded out of control for the next several years until I got to where I am today, an interest turned into a deep passion and and now it is my career.

What did you do before urban farming?

I am an architect with a Master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership. Before I started working full time for Urban Harvest STL, I was working for a global architecture firm as a sustainability consultant for many years, then briefly in the Office of Sustainability at Washington University. The non-profit started as a side hustle for many years, but I’m glad I can focus all of my energy on it now.

What part of the food system do you work on?

We focus on many different parts of the food system, as they are all interconnected. To name a few: food access, local food systems, urban agriculture, education, community engagement, agritourism. Agritourism focuses on the opportunity to get the public onto a farm, which usually takes place in the form of events or tours. We see it as a form of community engagement to get people to a farm and learn about it in different ways than just volunteering with us.

Can you tell us more about Urban Harvest STL?

Urban Harvest STL is a nonprofit with a social mission focused on food equity and education. One of our main programs is our food access program, which includes us growing food and collaborating with community partners to help distribute it to Northside food desert neighborhoods. Our other main component is education, which we carry out through our Leadership in Urban Ag Internship program, field trips and volunteer opportunities. Our internship program provides young people skills to grow their own food in an urban environment, while gaining experience in nonprofit management, event planning, volunteer management – so it is a leadership opportunity in an urban agriculture context.… Read the rest

Actually, we don’t sell our products. Instead, we donate food to different food pantries. We grow berries, sweet potatoes, melons, beans, peas cauliflower broccoli, okra, onions, garlic, and all the herbs. Everything we grow, we grow organically. We use sustainable farming methods such as interplanting with flowers and plants, integrated pest control, long rows, and raised beds depending on the crop.

When did you start farming?

I saw the need for people to have access to fruits and vegetables when I was working in Western St. Charles and saw people mostly getting processed food in cans and boxes.

What is your background? How long have you worked on the farm?

I grew up on a farm! I have been working on Seeds of Love for seven years. It’s been a community effort. We have two properties, one is at the LINC St. Charles Community Center. We asked to use some land that wasn’t being used around baseball and football fields and the garden has been expanding since. The other is at Living Lord Lutheran Church. We have been given all of our funds by churches and community centers.

What do you wish people knew about the food system in St. Louis?

There are too many people still going hungry. The need for food greatly outweighs the amount of donations being made. Target, Walmart, and Schnucks donate to pantries, but they only donate fresh food that is about to expire, not actually fresh food. Other community gardens should look into donating fresh food. Additionally, if you grow food in communities where there is a need for food, they will learn how to grow it. The best way and the only way to get the most fresh, most nutritious food is to grow it yourself. Children today are so removed from the food system. It is incredible how many kids don’t know where their food comes from. However, if you take the time to teach them, children are amazingly receptive and excited about growing food.

What has been your greatest struggle as a small farmer in the food industry?

Getting volunteers is not easy. But then again, nothing in growing and planting is easy. It is hard work but well worth it. I have spent the last three to four years educating people about their food and have been most successful in last two years.… Read the rest

Alicia and Joshua Davis never intended to become full time farmers. The husband and wife duo both have engineering degrees from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. However, when Joshua discovered aquaponics, a system of aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish supplies the nutrients for plant growth, which in turn purifies the water, the two found themselves quickly immersed into the world of farming. Soon, they moved out into the country in order to have a building to practice aquaponics. Green Finned Hippy Farm was primarily incorporated as a tilapia hatchery. However, due to state regulations and frequent power outages, the couple decided to focus their efforts in on other aspects of farming.

Today, Alicia and Josh run a one stop shop for natural pasture range meat where sustainable practices are carefully followed and animals are treated with love and respect. They believe that the way to get the best tasting product is to make sure the livestock have the highest quality of life while alive. Livestock like chickens and goats graze the pastures and are rotated on the land. No pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or chemicals are used. Captured rain is the main source of water for the hogs. Cows are grass fed and grass finished and, therefore, do not eat grain their entire lives.

They sell their products at a little store on their farm, make deliveries to Troy and O’Fallon, Illinois, and are kick-starting their “Farm to Table” delivery service this fall! The goal of the delivery service is to make obtaining high quality pasture raised food fast, easy, and convenient! At their Farm Store, you can find pasture-raised pork, eggs, beef, poultry, eggs, goats milk and pesticide-free produce. They even sell American Mulefoot Hog, an endangered species of hog that is not sold anywhere else in Illinois. Most of the products they sell cannot be found in any store.

Along with their selling of their products, the Davises also hold events on their farm to connect with people from the surrounding community. Their farm aims to offer year round activities to draw people to the farm. Whether it’s our spring and fall goat yoga classes, summertime blackberry picking and cheese making classes, or wintertime “Off the Grid Sunset Yoga” classes and hard cheese making seminars, they want to bring people back to the land, see where their food is being raised, and connect with it on a new level.… Read the rest

The Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition (GKCFPC) has been a huge inspiration for MCE’s Local Food Policy Coalition over the past few months. GKCFPC is housed under the nonprofit KC Healthy Kids, and its mission is to advocate for the Greater Kansas City food system and promote food policies that positively impact the nutritional, economic, social, and environmental health of Greater Kansas City. Beth Low-Smith is the Director of GKCFPC, and she leads a collaborative effort in Kansas City to see that sustainable, equitable, and healthy local food thrives. The alliance has engaged with representatives from healthcare, agriculture, education, social services, food distribution, government, nonprofits, and private business, as well as other sectors!… Read the rest